Boxing is definitely a soap opera at times and as recently as a week or so ago, we still didn’t know what the future of WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford held.
Now it looks as though Crawford will be facing off with former world champion Amir Khan on April 20th at Madison Square Garden on an ESPN pay per view show. The fight may not be official as of yet, but Bob Arum recently told ESPN.com that things are moving in the right direction.
“Everything looks good,” said Arum. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to make an announcement next week. It’s not done until it’s done, but I’m very optimistic.”
Lately, pay per views have risen in price. For example, this month’s Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner pay per view is coming in at $74.99, as was December’s Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder fight. Both will have aired on SHOWTIME pay per view.
But Crawford vs. Khan will go for $59.95, according Arum. Still a lofty amount when you consider the old days of pay per view, but many will likely be interested.
What makes the fight interesting is that Khan is actually one of the best viable opponents who is free at the moment. Khan’s 2018 saw him rock Phil Lo Greco in a round and then get dropped and come back to win a decision over Samuel Vargas. In 2018, Crawford defeated Jeff Horn for his title and then stopped a brave Jose Benavidez Jr. In the 12th and final round.
It’s hard to imagine who else Crawford could be facing that would draw as much interest as Khan at this point. There are great fighters at welterweight, but they are mostly aligned with adviser Al Haymon and the Premier Boxing Champions banner. Fights like WBC champion Shawn Porter vs. Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia vs. Adrian Granados, WBA champion Keith Thurman vs. Josesito Lopez, Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner, and Errol Spence Jr. Vs. Mikey Garcia are all fights with potential opponents that would make for great fights with Crawford.
For now, we have to appreciate Khan. Amir has victories over Marcos Maidana, Zab Judah, Paulie Malignaggi, Devon Alexander, Marco Antonio Barrera, Luis Collazo, and others, while also having faced the likes of Canelo Alvarez, Lamont Peterson, and Danny Garcia. That’s high-level experience, plus if you couple that with Khan’s obvious strengths such as speed and movement, he is an interesting test for Crawford.
Amir Khan may not defeat Terence Crawford but he has been to this level before, win or lose. In an era where so many great fights don’t happen because fighters are tied to certain promoters and and/or networks, we may not very well see Crawford in the kind of fights we want. But I can bet that Khan, who is never really in a boring fight, will make things worth watching on April 20.
